From the Federal Capital Territory, the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 says the federal government will not hesitate to change its course and proceed with a curfew when the need arises and reverse its decisions as the number of confirmed cases of the virus infections continue to rise.
The chairman of the Task Force Mr Abass Mustapha gave the warning at the daily news briefing on the consistent rise on the number of confirmed cases in the country. During the briefing, he informs the gathering that the government will not hesitate to change its decision as the cases continue to rise.
He urges all Nigerians both Muslims and Christians to seek God’s intervention against the calamity brought by the coronavirus infection and participate in a national prayer and fasting program that would be organized by the Inter-Religious Council against the COVID-19 Pandemic.
He went further to state the observation from the PTF on the new cases of the infection were expected since the government ease the lockdown, Nigerians need to observe social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus.
The National Coordinator also noted that Nigeria laboratories are underutilized because its capacity exceeds the numbers of sample test been carried out. For Nigeria to properly monitor the spread of the virus there is a need to conduct more testing as the 130, 462 test recorded so far isn’t a good figure for a country with over 200 million population.
The Minister of Health who was also present at the gathering explains that the government is putting necessary measures in place to reduce the numbers of COVID-19 related fatality, as the ministry is currently focused on minimizing fatality rate by prioritizing preemptive admission to hospital for medical observation.
He further explained that the preliminary result on the analysis of the Madagascar herbs or organics is been conducted by the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development. The result shows that the plant named Athanasia annua used in the herbs is also grown in Abuja and that further research on its efficacy will be conducted when the grant for the research is approved.
